CVS HEALTH Corp (CVS)

Price—Loading quote

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look reasonably priced, but they assume the profit recovery largely holds.

The last full-market close was $97.16 on August 14. With 1.278 billion shares, that implies about $124 billion of market value. The price is 12.1 times management’s $8.00 midpoint for 2026 adjusted profit, which excludes certain acquisition and unusual costs, and 14.0 times the $6.94 midpoint under standard accounting. Expected operating cash of at least $11.5 billion, less roughly $3 billion of annual investment spending, leaves about 6.8% of market value. That is respectable, but not clearly cheap given debt and recovery risk.

Big pictureCash generation remains durable, while reported profit has been unusually volatile.

Revenue climbed from $268.7 billion in 2020 to $402.1 billion in 2025, but net income swung between $1.8 billion and $8.3 billion during 2023-2025. Annual operating cash nevertheless stayed between $9.1 billion and $18.3 billion during 2020-2025, consistently exceeding $2.4-$3.0 billion of investment spending. Free cash flow, meaning cash left after running and investing in the business, was about $7.8 billion in 2025. First-half 2026 results improved sharply, although $2.2 billion came from working-capital movements that may not repeat.

Business strengthBroad healthcare reach supports cash flow, but debt limits financial flexibility.

Second-quarter adjusted operating profit increased across insurance, pharmacy services, and retail pharmacy, showing the benefit of CVS’s broad platform. The balance sheet still carried $59.5 billion of debt against $11.3 billion of cash at June 2026, although net debt improved by about $5.9 billion from December 2024. CVS paid $1.7 billion of dividends and repaid $3.3 billion of debt during first-half 2026. No buybacks are planned, while shares rose 1.4% from December 2024, so employee awards are causing modest dilution.

What could change the storyInsurance costs and pharmacy pricing will decide whether today’s valuation proves attractive.

The bull case strengthens if the share of insurance premiums spent on care stays near the second quarter’s 87.4%, annual operating cash reaches at least $11.5 billion, and debt keeps falling. The bear case is that elevated medical use returns, while pharmacy client discounts, rebate reforms, and federal drug-pricing changes weaken service profits. First-half insurance results also benefited from $1.2 billion of favorable revisions to earlier claim estimates. At $97.16, investors effectively need roughly $8 of annual adjusted profit to remain durable and grow modestly rather than fade after 2026.

$97.16 price considered

AI: News

Second-quarter beat, cautious outlookProfit and cash guidance rose sharply, but warnings about next year unsettled investors.

On August 5, CVS reported second-quarter revenue of $106.1 billion and adjusted profit of $2.58 a share, both above cited market forecasts. It raised 2026 adjusted profit guidance to $7.90-$8.10 and operating cash guidance to at least $11.5 billion. Shares nevertheless closed 5.1% lower that day. The timing supports an earnings reaction, but not certain causation; management’s warnings about 2027 pressure from federal discount-drug changes and Caremark membership offered a plausible reason for concern.

Caremark settles with regulatorA federal settlement reduces legal uncertainty but may narrow profitable drug-pricing practices.

On July 14, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement resolving its insulin-pricing case against Caremark. The order changes rebate-linked fees, increases client transparency, offers cost-based pharmacy reimbursement, and expands affordability programs. The regulator estimated up to $8.5 billion of consumer savings plus up to $4.5 billion from point-of-sale rebates over ten years; those figures are not direct CVS costs. Shares rose about 0.3% that day, too small a move to attribute confidently to the settlement.

First-quarter guidance increaseFirst-quarter results confirmed the turnaround and pushed expected annual profit higher.

On May 6, just beyond the preferred 90-day window, CVS reported $100.4 billion of revenue and $2.57 of adjusted profit per share. It raised 2026 adjusted profit guidance to $7.30-$7.50 from $7.00-$7.20 and operating cash guidance to at least $9.5 billion. Reuters reported that shares rose more than 9% in morning trading. Lower-than-expected medical spending at Aetna and stronger pharmacy-management earnings improved expectations, though CVS cautioned that medical costs remained above historical levels.

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Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
Revenue	$402.07B	$372.81B	$357.78B	$322.47B	$292.11B	$268.71B	$256.78B	$193.92B	$184.76B	$177.53B	$153.29B	$139.37B	$126.76B	$123.12B	$107.08B	$95.78B	$98.22B	$87.47B	$76.33B
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	$28.55B	$28.86B	$26.53B	$25.37B	$23.78B	$22.49B	$20.56B	$20.22B	$20.36B	$18.29B	$16.11B
Operating expenses	—	—	—	—	—	—	$33.54B	$21.37B	$18.81B	$18.45B	$17.05B	$16.57B	$15.75B	$15.28B	$14.23B	$14.08B	$13.93B	$12.24B	$11.31B
Operating income	$4.66B	$8.52B	$13.74B	$7.95B	$13.31B	$13.91B	$11.99B	$4.02B	$9.54B	$10.39B	$9.47B	$8.80B	$8.04B	$7.21B	$6.33B	$6.14B	$6.42B	$6.05B	$4.79B
EBITDAderived	$9.27B	$13.11B	$18.11B	$12.18B	$17.80B	$18.35B	$16.36B	$6.74B	$12.02B	$12.86B	$11.57B	$10.73B	$9.91B	$8.96B	$7.90B	$7.61B	$7.81B	$7.32B	$5.89B
Net income	$1.77B	$4.61B	$8.34B	$4.31B	$8.00B	$7.18B	$6.63B	−$594.0M	$6.62B	$5.32B	$5.24B	$4.64B	$4.59B	$3.86B	$3.46B	$3.43B	$3.70B	$3.20B	$2.64B
Basic EPSper diluted share	$1.40	$3.67	$6.49	$3.29	$6.07	$5.48	$5.10	-$0.57	$6.47	$4.93	$4.66	$3.98	$3.77	$3.04	$2.59	$2.51	$2.58	$2.23	$1.97
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$1.39	$3.66	$6.47	$3.26	$6.02	$5.46	$5.08	-$0.57	$6.44	$4.90	$4.63	$3.96	$3.74	$3.02	$2.57	$2.49	$2.55	$2.18	$1.92

Review source filings at SEC.gov ↗

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys6$2.11M disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)17$613.72M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
May 21, 2026Form 4	ROBBINS LARRYDirector	SellCommon Stock · indirect	370.5K	$93.45	$34.62M	4.82M
May 21, 2026Form 4	ROBBINS LARRYDirector	SellCash-Settled Swaps · derivative · indirect	378.0K	$93.31	$35.27M	0
May 20, 2026Form 4	ROBBINS LARRYDirector	SellCommon Stock · indirect	800	$96.28	$77.0K	5.20M
May 20, 2026Form 4	ROBBINS LARRYDirector	SellCommon Stock · indirect	66.9K	$95.67	$6.40M	5.20M
May 20, 2026Form 4	ROBBINS LARRYDirector	SellCommon Stock · indirect	152.7K	$94.81	$14.48M	5.26M

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

CVS HEALTH Corp (CVS)

Financial charts

Financial statements

Insider buys & sells